[vincesanity82]

Buried in a puff piece regarding new-old Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot is a startling contention from the former Vikings who allegedly was doing some very nasty stuff on the Love Boat in October 2005.

"Nothing happened on that boat," Smoot said, according to the Washington Times. "I wasn't the organizer. I was the new guy. I was along for the ride. The media took the four guys with the biggest contracts -- me, Daunte Culpepper, Bryant McKinnie and Moe Williams -- and blew the story out of proportion."

Yeah, it's the media's fault. Again. The media lobbied the prosecutor to charge each of them with crimes. The media infiltrated the jury that convicted Moe Williams of disorderly conduct. The media persuaded Smoot to plead guilty to disorderly conduct, at a total cost of more than $83,000 when factoring in his NFL-imposed fine, when he was in fact innocent.

"Look at the criminal charges: Disturbing the peace. A $1,000 fine," Smoot said. "Do you think that's what it would've been if anything had happened? . . . . No one touched a woman. There were no DUIs. We were driven home in limos. As soon as we were accused, it was like, 'They're football players. They must be guilty.' Yes, we drank, but we were all old enough to drink. There were women on the boat, but no one touched them. There was no sex party. We're smarter than that."

Bull. Smoot wouldn't have pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct if he thought he could beat the rap. When he saw Williams get convicted, a day after Moe's lawyer boasted of victory, Smoot surely decided that it was time to face reality.

And keep this in mind. Smoot didn't plead no contest, which means "I'm not saying I did it, I just don't want to fight it."

Smoot pleaded guilty.

So he did it. And he said he did it. And now he's saying he didn't do it.

We don't believe it. And no one else with a milligram of common sense should, either.

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[Gotham Dark Knight]

You know what I want to see?...I want to see pro athletes take a bunch of cameras and follow writers around and record every stupid thing they say and do, and then rush it to print and then get a few DA's involved...and...yeah...will never happen...why?...because who the heck wants to read a story about a bunch of pencil (or laptop) geeks...

So what's the beef with Smoot?...he paid his debt, he can say whatever the heck he wants to...does it have to be a "story again?"...spare me...

[Lefty Noob]

Look at the way it's phrased: "Buried in a puff piece..."

I've been in the media long enough to know the translation is "We ignored all the good things written about the guy..."

Smoot and the boat incident are dead issues. They've been tried and paid their penalties. Let's let it go.

[Bette]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Look at the way it's phrased: "Buried in a puff piece..."

I've been in the media long enough to know the translation is "We ignored all the good things written about the guy..."

Smoot and the boat incident are dead issues. They've been tried and paid their penalties. Let's let it go.

I vote for that.